Trap-nest gate



June 2, 1953 T. T, AREL 2,640,220

TRAP-NEST GATE Filed Feb. 6, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l BY WM wm@ T. T. AREL TRAP-NEST GATE June 2, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb. 6, 1951 /Gav-ll June 2, 1953 T. T. AREL 2,640,220

TRAP-NEST GATE Filed Feb. 6, 1951v 5 Sheets-Shet' 3 Bap-yn June 2, 1953 T. T. AREL 2,640,220

TRAP-NEST GATE Filed Feb. 6, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 l 1N VEN TOR. Theoph//e 77 H re/ June 2, 1953 T. T. AREI. l 2,640,220

TRAP-NEST GATE Filed Feb. 6, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED NT 2,640,220

TTRAPHNESTG-ATE TheophileT. Arel, Marietta, (lauf.

Application 'February' 6, 1951;'Serial1No. .209;644'

4 .Claims `l AThe. present invention relates toan .improvedtrap-nest for poultry and is Vparticularly-j designed tomeet conditions attendant to' production of high quality turkey .eggs forsubsequenthatch.-

ing.

`During the; clutching. period'zit-is desirable .in the interest of good management to keep a: care,- ful record of the egg production of each turkey hen, to be able to ascertain the condition of. the eggs layed byy each hen of the flock,. that is, to ascertain whether the eggs produced arez-of vsuch size, shape, weight andgeneral condition as to produce a healthy and-,vigorous poult; toprotect a turkey `hen from; molestation by other turkeys when klaying to provide-,a'trap-nestgate.l so constructed and arranged as;,not topinterferev-W-th yor engage the protective saddle-:wornbya hen; to provide a new and simplified gate for aftrapnest; to providea trap-nest, gate so constructed and arranged as to be predeterminedly operable to entrap and retain a henin the nest pending in.- spection of her egg for hatchingquaiities; to provide a trap-nest gate adapted tov be operable to admit and permit the exit ofa hento.-v and from a nest by self-applied pressure,- at all rtimes other than when inspection of egg. production is desired; to provide a trap-nest gate .sc .constructed as to have an element ythereof,yield-,and/or break as a safety device for protection cfa turkey hen in thosevinstances in which ahenfbecomes caught in the trap and might otherwise harmmr even kill herself in thrashingV` about. ,T01-provide a gate for a trap-nest so constructed and. ar ranged as to enable an attendant tol easily; and

quickly replace gate pickets if any' thereof should l be yaccidentally broken; to .provide a trap-nest and gate therefor which-is readily accessible for cleaning and spraying; to provide a-trapfrlest; and

vgate so constructed and arranged as to be adapted to use in batteries thereof to facilitate attendance and care thereof; and, to provide a trapf-nestand gate construction adapted-to mass production and low cost thereof.

The foregoing and others objects, features and advantages of the improvement are turbe-.noted tailed specification and the sub-joinediolaims.

y In the drawing, of which there are four sheets: Figure 1 is a` front elevational view` showing-a battery of three of the trap-nests andgates. of

va cover-lid raised to` show the interior-thereof.

"Figure 4 `is an-end view in elevation; and,

l45 in. a study of the accompanying drawing,- the; de-

ofi-lockingimeans t0 .retain anesting hen turkey- ;-Eigure ,9,- isy also, ya sectional View,I being that .seeni-alongulne `fie-il,.l-igure- 'L the view shows -themannerfm which the gate, pickets are, .slidably fitted in the pivot V.body element thereof.

ligure. 10- isan enlarged yelevational view along line .l (1 -Mx, Figure 8,-showing ,thegate` retaininglatch thereof.

litigare-11, is an elevational view of thel pivot body; of ,t thegate, the` view is. taken, alongjline ile-H, Figure 9; and,

f Figure-Mis. an. end view thereof, seelne lZ-l 2`, Viiiigure 1l.

Figures 131. and 14-areplan and Side elevational views of a fmodied yform-or picket supportadapte ,esito be mounted upon the body 0f `tile eate- Fgure 15 is a sectionalview taken transversely either-lest .showing .a vmodified form of Jr11-anual release latchto secure the gate-in,closedposton tozretain a :1 -ien, therein.

JFgure; 16, vis a frontelevational viewV showing improved 4 gate support structure formed of cie-stamped component parts which are-welded together to form a unitary structure adaptedto receive .Wood slat closurepieces, means for ,hinged mounting thereof, Ontmoet-framing structure'and .meansufor attaching springs vthereto whereby 1the `gate..in-passing over-a dead-center is held-in -either open or closedposition,acrossgthe Ventrance -to a nest.

'Figuren 1'7:-;isan end view thereof and, r-Figure 18 isea top-plan view of-vthe gate-,sup-

port.

Fi-gu-rel 19` -is a sectionalview taken along-.line

Figure'v 120 is. aY similiar view:V taken alongfiline 20a-20; iigure.16,:forzthe purposeof showingconvstruction-,of .-thesupport.

-IFiguref'zl. isf atop-plan view of` a blank-.forgthe 3 left-hand side of the support, this element of the construction forms the closure therefor when folded along the dotted lines; and,

Figure 22 is a companion blank adapted to form the right-hand closure for the gate support when folded along the dotted lines.

Figure 23 is a top-plan view of the central piece of the construction and after having been folded along the several dotted lines as hereinafter described is adapted to receive the end closure pieces spot welded thereto to form a unitary structure.

In the present embodiment of the improvement I show three of the trap-nests 2 in a unitary structure or battery thereof, although it will be apparent to all concerned that the trap-nest may be made as a single unit or as a battery of more than three thereof.

The frame of a single trap-nest or of a multiplenumber thereof comprises spaced, horizontally disposed wood pieces 4 which extend along each of the sides and along the rear of the nest, and are secured to vertical pieces 6 so as to form a'structure having three slatted sides as distinguished from the front upon which side .the

of the trap-nest for recovery of and inspection of eggs, and also to enable an attendant to obtain physical control of the hen if need be. It is to be noted that the forward edge of the cover-lid I6 overhangs the rail 8 and is brought into abutment with the rail 8 when the cover-lid is raised and serves to hold the lid in `backwardly inclined raised posi-tion so that both of the hands of an attendant are free for working Within the nest if need be. The free edge of the cover-lid rests upon the uppermost of the rear horizontal pieces 4 and when in this position or closed position is provided with 'sufficient slope tol cause rain to naturally drain therefrom. The forward half of the trap-nest is provided with a sloping, nonremovable roofk slab l2 which may be covered with a waterproof material i4 such as sheet metal or a roofing composition.

` If there are more than one of the trap-nests, then each thereof is separated from the other by means of a woven wire barrier screen I6 tacked von or otherwise secured to the vertical pieces i 6a along the rear of the structure and to like pieces l6b upon the inner side of the front of the structure.

nests. Vertical strips 22 may be nailed to the upper horizontal rail 26 and to a lower horizontal board 24 to partially cover the space 23 between `the sides of the gate and the ends E, E of the structure is formed as a single nest unit, .or to cover the space between the gate and either one of these ends and a partitioning screen barrier I6, or between a gate and screen barriers i6 upon both sides thereof, as the case may be.

The gate I8 shown herein comprises blocks of Wood 26 having a length approximately equal to .fthe width of the gate opening and are substan- 4 tially although not fully triangular in section so as to provide faces 28 and 30, these faces, as inferred, are slightly divergent with respect to one another, that is, with respect to the part 26 they lie in planes in excess of 90 degrees with respect to one another.

Each of the ends of the part 26 are formed with an off-set or step face 32 and 34 upon the sides 28 and 36 and which off-set faces are of a depth and width adapted to flush-t receive the sectional dimensions of pickets 32a and 34a therein. A metal strip 36 lies upon the face 28 of the part 26 and horizontally across the olf-set face 32 and is then bent at right angles to lie against .-1 and secured to the ends of the part 26, and in like manner a metal strip 38 lies upon the face 36 and horizontally across the off -set face 3-4 and is then bent at right angles to lie against and extend across the ends of the rst mentioned strip and then be secured in like manner to the ends of the part 26. This construction forms rectangular, slip-fit pockets 40 and 42 for one end of each of the pickets 32a. and 34a. Screws 44, inserted through suitable apertures in the metal strips 36 and 38 and the pickets, are screw threaded in the par-t 26 to provide a facile operated means to easily and quickly replace the pickets if broken; and in this connection it is to be noted that each of the pickets are formed with a transverse cut upon their exterior face which cut is adapted to weaken the picket in sucient `degree to cause it to break under thrashing impact of a hen turkey if for any reason the hen becomes caught in or upon any of the appertenances of the trap-nest. Normally the slotted pickets possess sucient strength to meet all imposed requirements thereof.

Brackets 46 attached to the horizontal rail 20 of the nest structure 'are adapted to swingably support the vpart 26 upon screw threaded pintles `43. A finger 50 having an outturned end 52 is placed between one of the lbrackets 46 and the adjacent sheathed end of the Ipart 26 and is adapted to hold one end of an extensile spring 54 the opposite end of which is :anchored upon a screw attached to the beam 20 afore-mentioned. The spring is adapted to yieldably hold the gate in either of its functional positions against free swinging movement. Y

As previously mentioned there are occasions,

such as at the beginning of the clutchingr season,

when it is desiralble to entrap a hen to inspect her eggs, or for other reason, this I accomplish by provision of 'a self-operated latch 56 which is pivotally positioned upon -the rail 8 and so located thereon as to be intercepted by a picket 34a and `is momentarily pushed aside by the picket in moving to rest against the rail 8, but which thereafter swings back to engage and hold the picket in raised position. A keeper 58 may be 'applied to the latch to prevent its accidental release or to prevent operation of the latch if it is not desired to lock the gate against functional swinging movement.

In Figure 15 I show a modified form of latching structure for securing the gate against swinging movement, here a metal stamping 66 having a latch finger 62 and a weighted, pendent arm 64 is fulcrumed upon a Apintle 48 and is adapted to be clamped in non-functional use position between one end of the `part 26 and the adjacent bracket '46 by means of a wing-nut 66. A bar 68 secured to the beam 20 is adapted to be engaged by the lip of the latch finger for retention thereof. Loosening the nut 66 and pulling' the Afholdsthe,.latch-Out.ofslisasemen With babes: ,.ieenetbet nut.- enahles ,the1atcn=to.;sw1,ne wallets@ gatas@ 03,` while release of` the cor ma eachV time mesa@ fis swiiuamwadly .the

of asista- ',fiomos @teenager-...6s-

In- Figures @13 and .141.1 Show @gatherings-f, construction wasted. to. .datasheet sueportfhe meta1;.12 .bentto fori-1,1; a changer hat 16 :and overwegingen-edges.lf3-f. Th' 1.19: ture is then cut through the sides 'I6 andthe i. op-A edges-.aod .iS then bentithrcush appt-examen 90. :.desreesit-isrthenflplae within the, det`1r1ec-l-f@hernias f. 14 arid.; retained portion is bent rnedially Iand longitudinallyof its. length-to form half-portions A andBWhich-may be alternatively .swung .to and `from vertical posi-.,

tion by reason of being rotatably positioned Upon a rod-|04, whichextends longitudinally through the part |00, in L brackets 46a which are adapted t loa-.triedlrz Secured, royerheadlrail ,20am the frame `of the nest.

The body portion |0| vis formed withchannels |06 inthe end portions thereof, the crowns |01..

of. which are .pressed .outwardly as shown in Figures.l6..and..l8.. Pairedrightand left hand closure lplates .|08 .having amend .wall |000, and inwardly vbent .rectangul'artabs |0812` and |08c are adaptedy `upon.assembly .with lthe part I0 I- to complete. the vbasic .features/of- `:the manufacture.

The end plates |00@ are suitably secured as by welding or riveting to the dependent outer ange |09 of the part |0|, and the tabs |031) and |03c are placed across the open side of the channel |06 with their outer edges also welded or riveted to intermediate plane surfaces of the part |0| as shown in Figures 16 and 20.

The plates |08a of part |08 have a portion of their free corners rolled laterally and rearwardly to lform ears ||0 Iwhich are apertured to receive one of the hooked ends of a spring while the other end of these springs are attached to the dependent lip 00h of the brackets 46a.

The structure afore-described is adapted to be hingedly positioned with respect to the rail 20 and the channels |00 therein are adapted to receive staves 32a therein whereby upon being swung to either of its alternative ypositions one pair of staves will stand vertically across .the opening to the nest structure :and the other pair of staves will either extend forwardly of the nest structure or rearwardly therewithin, and it is to be noted that in either of these last mentioned positions one pair of the staves are .upwardly inclined from the horizontal whereby clearance of a turkeys saddle is aiTorded so that all danger of becoming entangled with the gate is avoided.

The -gate element |00 hereinbef'ore described is eicient, simple and reliable in use an-d so constructed that the staves used in conjunction therewith are easily and quickly replaced and these truths rest upon the premise that the article is formed of but three simrple die stamped parits ensasestbe bar 63 there'brhelles the.gate` ked position. until. ,manual disengagement-f mathe pari 26ers@ securedinplae message Pigketsmay-be .sllredf `1ol pickets-Miri fenaison relatoeshiatofmeseta body 26,y This picket Superar@ is formed 0f Sh et des shown in Figures 21, 22 .ao 23.1

I will new describe these blanks in detail tfQf.- it isessential t0; haveuan understanding .thereof-A.

to practice.theinvention,A

Blanks ,|20 and |2|- are identical exceptywthag theyconstitute righty and lleft hand part-s, 'and.

it .is .fr0-mines@ banks that I form .the closure elements|08.- Afdescription of one of. these sufce the .purpose of this description.v

The blanks aresubstantially L-shaped inplan View, and are, dened as follows, beginninglat.v pointr |23 lthe sides, thereof. extend .ina horizontallline `.to .point'IZLA thence through arelatively small .ortight .90 degreecurve |25 Yto point|2,6, thence .upwardly to point 21, thence horizontally to point 2 8,thence. inwardly at right angle to point. |29,. thence through .a relatively tight 90 degree curve l30..to point |35, thence horizontally-to.,

point..|32,\ thence downwardly at right angleto. point |23 .which .point .is the point of beginning.`

These blanks are further dened by bending.

not lie in parallelism with either line |23-I 21|4 or..

line l2'i-l23--but that'i't Ais slightly inclined from point |28 whereby upon beingfolded, part S2M of .f

these blanks are caused to lie at an angle equal and proportionate tothe angle lying between the hali-portions A-and E of the'p'art i0! when folded as etere-described.

The ears |0 are formed upon bending the corner portion! Zilbof the blankalong the' bending line vIt? which line is disposed at an angle of 45 degrees and intersects `line I23`|2sanclline E20-|21. atpoints |38-and ltrespectively.. The

corner segment thus defined is of such proportion as to provide ears l0 which extend laterally from the ends of the support a sui'icient distance to give clearance to the spring lli when placed in functional use position in the completed assembly.

The body portion |0| is formed from the blank shown in Figure 23, and its shape may be dened as extending in a horizontal line from point |50 to point 15|, thence in a right angle to point |52, thence in a 45 degree angle to point |53, thence in a horizontal line to point |50, thence in a minor reverse curve 55 to point |50, thence in a horizontal line to point |5'i, the area between points |53 and 5l defines an elongated slot H, thence in a 45 degree angle to point |58, thence in a line parallel with line |5||52 to point |59, thence through a degree angle and in a horizontal line to point |00, thence through 90 degrees to point ll, thence through 45 degrees to point |62, thence in an inwardly directed horizontal line Ato point |03, thence through a minor reverse curve |04 to pointl |55, thence in an outwardly directed horizontal line to point |60, the area between points |62 and |66 defines an elongated slot L, thence through l5 degrees to point |01 and thence in a straight line to point |50, which point is the point of beginning.

This blank is further dened by bending points as follows:

Bending points |`|0 and |l0a extend transversely across the blank through the radius points of the curves IE5-|64, and bending points and l1 la extend across the blank in parallelism with lines 11n-[19a and are spaced therefrom a working distance equal to the depth of the channels |05, Bending points H2 and |1211 lie parallel with lines IH--llla and are spaced therefrom a working distance equal to the Width of the channels |06. Bending point |13 extends medially and longitudinally of the length of the blank to form the point around which the halfportions A and B are swung to form the transverse configuration of the gate as shown in Figure 20. In practice the blanks are die bent simultaneously along the several enumerated lines whereby the material E is not deformed, the material C is bent vertically upward to form the inner sides of the channel |06, the material D forming the crown of the channels remains parallel with the material E and the material F is bent downward through 90 degrees to form a liange |09 to the inner face of which the part l08a of the closures 108 are fixedly secured. The V slots G and Ga are -provided to give clearance for flush mating of the flanges |09 as shown in Figure 17.

The blanks 2| and 22 are bent in a die along the several lines aforedescribed and located to form the parts la, |0812 and 108e of the closures as shown in Figures 16 and 20.

Of the several forms of gate support structure herein shown and described in Figures 1 through 23, I prefer that shown in Figures 16 through 23 for the prime reason that it is more durable than the Wood supports, also, it is more easily kept clean and free of ticks, lice, and other insects which are wont to breed upon or in the presence of fowl of the character aforementioned.

Having thus described my invention in its several forms including the presently preferred thereof, that which I believe to be n-ovel and for which I seek Letters Patent, is as follows.

I claim:

1. A support for gate slats arranged to form closure pieces across an opening to a trap-nest,

said support having an elongated body essentially formed of a single piece of L-shaped sheet metal having a slit extending inwardly of the ends thereof coincidental with the intersection of the sides of said body so as to form bifurcated end portions therefor, said bifurcated end portions being deformed to provide outwardly disposed Slat-ways extending transversely thereacross, a capping on one side of each Slat-way, said cappings on their one side being provided with outwardly inclined legs, and a pintle for said support, said pintle being positioned within said body adjacent the intersection of the sides thereof and extending through the ends thereof including said cappings.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein the deformed bifurcated ends of the body of the support converge upon and intersect one another.

3. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein said cappings each have an element disposed to lie across a Slat-way and another element disposed to form a side piece for said body.

4. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein each of said cappings have an element disposed to lie across each of the Slat-Ways in each end of said body and, another element disposed to form a side-closure for said body, said last mentioned element having a deformed corner portion arranged to provide a lug for connection with a spring.

THEOPHILE T. AREL.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 864,598 Baynes Aug. 2'7, 190'? 1,867,816 Finkbeiner July 19, 1932 2,105,879 Hart Jan. 18, 1938 2,113,859 Rowe Apr. 12, 1938 2,339,555 Y Glass Jan. 18, 1944 2,357,339 Mathieu Sept. 5, 1944 

